Benjamin Franklin

Rachel Sutherland
English Composition I
Prof. Comeau
October 11, 2012
A Clear Look into the Life of Benjamin FranklinThe Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin has themes of enlightenment, hard work, nature, and intelligence. A person’s attention may not be drawn toward these ideas at first glance, but after reading “The Allegory of the Cave” by Plato and “The American Scholar” by Emerson, it is difficult to stray away from connecting the three works.

“The Allegory of the Cave” presents enlightenment in an intriguing way. A figurative scenario within a cave occurs. In this scenario, a group of people are living in a cave where they have been put in all types of restraints only allowing them to look forward at the wall opposite of the light. The light casts shadows onto the wall. At some point in time, a shadow appears and to some, a voice is also heard. The shadow is then rumored to be god. No one in the cave argues this idea of god because they do not yet know any better, or they have not yet been enlightened. After a while, one person is taken from the cave and is shown “god”. This person is the enlightened one. They now know that what they believed to be true is actually false. Once placed back into the cave, the enlightened one can no longer see. This person no longer shares ideas with those of the cave. When the enlightened one attempts to create a paradigm shift by revealing the truth, people get upset and argumentative.

The cave scenario is a phenomenal way to describe the ideas of enlightenment. The scenario illustrates that one cannot be enlightened if they refuse to step out of the formalities of their everyday life. To Plato, the concept of enlightenment is belief in a new truth and leaving old thoughts behind. The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin includes many ideas of enlightenment from literal to figurative. Franklin was literally enlightened every time he took another step up in his career. Starting out as a printer and a writer, and...

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BenjaminFranklin was born in Boston on January 6th, 1706. He was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States of America, and was also well known for his writings and inventions. R. V. Jones states that BenjaminFranklin was “the oldest man to sign the Declaration of Independence” he also goes on to say that Franklin “had done more than anyone else to keep America within the British Empire; and now he was to play a key part in the War that won Independence for the American Colonies.” BenjaminFranklin also acquired success from being a writer, printer, man of science, and being a philanthropist. The inventive mind of BenjaminFranklin produced the well- known Franklin stove, bifocals, carriage and also the public institutions, such as the free library and postal system (Lauter 838). BenjaminFranklin was an intelligent man with a remarkable talent for inventing things which had a major influence on eighteenth Century America. He was appreciated by many followers and his ability to write and invent contributed greatly to American society.
Benjamin Franklin’s father Josiah Franklin was a candle and soap maker and Franklin at the age of 10 was an...

...come to be known as the American Dream, it is the life story of BenjaminFranklin. BenjaminFranklin is one of the most talented, famous, and powerful people in the United States, who was part of Five that was to draft the Declaration of Independence. He dedicated almost his life to the Revolution of the United States. Besides being a talented inventor with many significant inventions that have changed the world until now, he was a successful politician as well. He was considered the elder statesman by the time of the Revolution and the Constitutional Convention. His contributions to the Revolution of the United States are priceless. He deserves the respect from everybody in America for everything that he did to help America overcome a lot of difficulties in its very first years. His early political career, and his role of the Revolutionary are very worth to be noticed as the most fascinating, interesting in Benjamin Franklin’s life.
The political path of BenjaminFranklin was very confused and complicated. He is considered the most American and the least American of the revolution leaders. There were a lot of interesting things that led to his political career. Franklin was born into a large poor family of ten children, he was not expected to be the leading man he was. Through the printing press Franklin was able to support himself for the rest...

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Name: Qudrat Alizada ID: 9981
Essay Assignment # 1 ENG240
Professor: Dr. Raj Chandarlapaty
Question2. Discuss the work ethic of BenjaminFranklin in his Autobiography and the significance of his contribution to American democracy and capitalism. Why are Franklin’s “Choices” important in building the American ethic?
BenjaminFranklin:
If ever a story embodied what has come to be known as the American dream, it is the life story of BenjaminFranklin. The work ethic of Franklin could be considered a passionate and energetic man who motivated himself by self-determination and his strong work ethic to achieve self-improvement. Beyond his personal ambitions to attain self-improvement, Franklin’s deep notions and convictions inspired him to help others for a better life. Franklin’s desire in providing and creating useful solutions for society and states, his recounting of the assistance he gave to others demonstrated his convictions in his reasons for writing. In addition, the author Perkins in his book “The American Tradition in Literature” narrates that:
“Franklin’s mind approved and his behavior demonstrated the fundamental concepts of the Age of Reason – faith in the reality of the world as revealed to the senses, distrust of the mystical or mysterious, confidence in the attainment...

...BenjaminFranklin
Introduction
I. Attention gaining Statement: “If you would not be forgotten as soon as you are dead, either write something worth reading or do things worth writing”
― BenjaminFranklin
II. Revealed topic: I would like to pay tribute to a very important figure in American history, one of the Founding Fathers, BenjaminFranklin.
III. Establish Credibility: In doing online research, I have learned more of what this man has done for America and its citizens which I believe we should recognize.
III. Preview Main Ideas: My speech is going to consist of some of his background which lead him to become the person he was, the role he played in U.S history, and some of his inventions that helped us come a long way.
Body
I. Main Idea: BenjaminFranklin was born on January 17, of 1706 and was one of seventeen children. Although Benjamin did not get much schooling, he enjoyed to read and write. He would them become an apprentice to his older brother James, who was a printer, composing pamphlets and selling them to the people. When Ben was only 15, his older brother had his own newspaper but wouldn’t allow Ben to write for it. He was only an apprentice. The only way to get on that paper was to make up a name, which was “Silence Dogood”, and send his letters at night so he remained unknown. After some letters he finally...

...﻿Susanna Dey
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BenjaminFranklin
Say the name BenjaminFranklin and you may picture a chubby man with spectacles holding a
kite during a lightening storm. Perhaps you picture him a older man with spectacles propped up on his nose standing in a great room full of distinguished gentlemen signing the Declaration of Independence. Both of these facts about Benjamin Franklin's life would be true. However, there was so much more to Mr. Franklin. He was a diplomat, a statesman, a scientist, and a writer. His contributions to our society were more than just to America but to the world. For the purpose of this paper we will just discuss the inventions he produced which had a world impact. (Fish 2).
Ben Franklin was born 17 January 1706 in Boston, Massachusetts to Josiah and Abiah Franklin. (Isaacson 26). His father was a candle and soap maker. Tried as he might, this career did not interest him. Neither did the business of printing as he discovered while working as an apprentice for his older brother. Though Ben Franklin possessed at an early age the talent of persuasive writing via “anonymous letters” to the editor, young Ben Franklin was destined for much more. At the age of 17 years old, he decided he did not want to work in his brother's printing shop. He caught a sailing vessel to Pennsylvania....

...BenjaminFranklin Joins the Revolution
Returning to Philadelphia from England in 1775, the "wisest American" kept his political leanings to himself. But not for long
• By Walter Isaacson
• Smithsonian.com, August 01, 2003
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Just as his son William had helped him with his famed kite-flying experiment, now William’s son, Temple, a lanky and fun-loving 15-year-old, lent a hand as he lowered a homemade thermometer into the ocean. Three or four times a day, they would take the water’s temperature and record it on a chart. BenjaminFranklin had learned from his Nantucket cousin, a whaling captain named Timothy Folger, about the course of the warm Gulf Stream. Now, during the latter half of his six-week voyage home from...

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In the Americanization of BenjaminFranklin Gordon S. Wood
portrays the life of BenjaminFranklin. Through his various life
experiences Wood is able examine BenjaminFranklin and give a better
understanding of who this man actually was. Franklin was a man who
aspired to do something great, something that would change the world.
He came from Boston, a life of “poverty and obscurity in which he was
born and bred,” he left it behind for Pennsylvania where he was able to
create, “a state of affluence and some degree of reputation in the
world.” (Franklin23)
BenjaminFranklin saw the new world as an expanding nation that
would soon outnumber Europe. He sought to create a prosperous life for
the people of the new world. At ﬁrst he believed in the imperialism of the
British Empire, but soon began to question their rule. From there he
began to become a Patriot and sought after the separation from British
control. Through all this you can see how Franklin began his life as a
British loyalist, but through “Americanization” his thoughts evolved only
helping create the nation we live in today. “Franklin could scarcely
restrain the excitement as he contemplated the future of this proliﬁc New
World that would eventually outnumber the Old.” (Wood71)
Franklin was a “true-blue Englishman,”...

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Section: 6001
January 27, 2015
BenjaminFranklinBenjaminFranklin is very memorable person of the United States because he devoted his whole life to achieve what he wanted form America. BenjaminFranklin was born in Boston on January 17, 1706. His family was very poor and he had to support his family with some money. First he began his work as the candle maker, his hard work and determination made him very successful that he could educate himself and it made him very influential man. Franklin was very bright because he was able to teach himself like the different languages. He found out that familiarity with modern language made Latin very easier to study.
In his writing “Remarks concerning the savages of North America” he is trying to criticize that the American community is about being socialize and educated people. This amazing writing is based on Franklin’s various types of experiences with social and cultural of the American Indians in other word Native Americans. Franklin’s thoughts of native life are stated in such a way as to analyze some of the failings of his own western community. This essay was written in 1784s. In this kind of work Franklin makes deep observation on how the society of Native Americans and particularly the six nations of the confederation of Iroquois tribes, differs from that of white community people in America. The main...